Red Star cuts corners

Red Star, one of the UK’s top parcel companies, is set to unveil a revamped identity designed in-house by a graduate taken on especially for the job.

The decision to bypass identity consultancies was taken by Guy Buswell, Red Star’s new marketing and sales director. The company was the subject of a management buyout from parent British Rail and became an independent company in September. The new identity will be introduced in January.

“We’ve taken on a university graduate who we feel is equally as capable of designing our logo as a consultancy would be,” says Buswell. “And there is the added advantage of flexibility – he’s here so he understands our company culture. He’s sitting in front of a Mac, so we can change and adapt the logo immediately as opposed to going backwards and forwards with a consultancy.” Buswell does not name the graduate.

One of the overriding factors in not using a consultancy was cost, says Buswell. “Pound for pound, we feel this is the best solution given the factors of time and cost,” he comments.

He adds: “Neither of our competitors – TNT and Datapost – has a particularly strong corporate image, so we’ve decided to adopt an evolutionary approach rather than a complete change.” Buswell says public perception of the existing identity was researched.

Design in Action redesigned Red Star’s identity in 1992. DIA managing director Barry Salter says: “If Red Star is truly adopting this route, it’s very disappointing.”